Ms. DeGette
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural
Resources

A BILL

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other
purposes.

1.

Short title and
definition

(a)

Short
Title

This Act may be cited as the Colorado Wilderness Act of
2009.

(b)

Secretary
Defined

As used in this Act, the term Secretary
means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as
appropriate.

2.

Additions to
National Wilderness Preservation System in the State of Colorado

(a)

Additions

The
following lands in the State of Colorado administered by the Bureau of Land
Management or the United States Forest Service are hereby designated as
wilderness and, therefore, as components of the National Wilderness
Preservation System:

(1)

The following
areas managed by the Glenwood Springs Field Office:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
15,155 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Bull Gulch Proposed
Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Bull Gulch Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
16,263 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Castle Peak Proposed
Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Castle Peak Wilderness.

(C)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
316 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Maroon Bells Snowmass
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Maroon Bells Wilderness.

(D)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
11,701 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Grand Hogback
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Grand Hogback Wilderness.

(2)

The following
areas managed by the Glenwood Springs Field Office or located in the White
River National Forest:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
16,427 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Flat Tops Addition
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, and which are
hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Flat Tops
Wilderness designated by Public Law 94–146.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,285 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Thompson Creek
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Thompson Creek Wilderness.

(3)

The following
areas managed by the Grand Junction Field Office:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
21,110 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Bangs Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Bangs Canyon Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,881 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Demaree Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Demaree Canyon Wilderness.

(C)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
14,089 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Granite Creek
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Granite Creek Wilderness.

(D)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
30,557 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Little Bookcliffs
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Little Bookcliffs Wilderness.

(E)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
26,914 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled The Palisade
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Palisade Wilderness.

(F)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
27,569 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled South Shale Ridge
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the South Shale Ridge Wilderness.

(4)

Certain lands managed by the Grand Junction
Field Office or located in the Uncompahgre National Forest, which comprise
approximately 39,392 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
Unaweep Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007,
which shall be known as the Unaweep Wilderness.

(5)

Certain lands managed by the Grand Junction
Field Office and San Juan Field Office and in the Manti-LaSal National Forest
which comprise approximately 65,448 acres, as generally depicted on a map
titled Sewemup Mesa Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September
17, 2007, which shall be known as the Sewemup Mesa Wilderness.

(6)

The following
areas managed by Gunnison Field Office:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
3,306 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Powderhorn Additions
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, and which are
hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Powderhorn
Wilderness designated by Public Law 103–77.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
38,594 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Redcloud Peak
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Redcloud Peak Wilderness.

(C)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
6,878 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled West Elk Addition
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, and which are
hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the West Elk
Wilderness designated by Public Law 88–577.

(7)

Certain lands managed by the Gunnison Field
Office or located in the Gunnison National Forest and Rio Grande National
Forest which comprise approximately 72,397 acres, as generally depicted on a
map titled Handies Peak Proposed Wilderness Area, dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Handies Peak Wilderness.

(8)

Certain lands managed by the Kremmling
Field Office which comprise approximately 33 acres, as generally depicted on a
map titled Platte River Addition Proposed Wilderness Area, dated
September 17, 2007, and which are hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to
be part of the Platte River Wilderness designated by Public Law 98–550.

(9)

The following areas managed by the
Uncompahgre Field Office or located in the Uncompahgre National Forest:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
22,604 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Roubideau Proposed
Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Roubideau Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
13,288 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Norwood Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Norwood Canyon Wilderness.

(10)

The following areas managed by the San Juan
Field Office:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,947 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Cross Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Cross Canyon Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
33,467 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled McKenna Peak
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the McKenna Peak Wilderness.

(C)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
14,598 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Weber-Menefee
Mountain Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which
shall be known as the Weber-Menefee Mountain Wilderness.

(11)

Certain lands managed by the Uncompahgre
and San Juan Field Offices which comprise approximately 41,133 acres, as
generally depicted on a map titled Dolores River Canyon Proposed
Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Dolores River Canyon Wilderness.

(12)

The following areas managed by the Royal
Gorge Field Office:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
17,318 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled McIntyre Hills
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the McIntyre Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
27,888 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Table Mountain
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Table Mountain Wilderness.

(13)

The following areas managed by the Royal
Gorge Field Office or located in the Pike National Forest:

(A)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
38,378 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Beaver Creek
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Beaver Creek Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,229 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Badger Creek
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Badger Creek Wilderness.

(C)

Certain lands which comprise approximately
20,025 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Browns Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Browns Canyon Wilderness.

(14)

Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge
Resource Area or located in the San Isabel National Forest which comprise
approximately 44,372 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Grape
Creek Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall
be known as the Grape Creek Wilderness.

(15)

Certain lands managed by the San Juan Field
Office or located in the San Juan National Forest which comprise approximately
32,050 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled Snaggletooth
Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Snaggletooth Wilderness.

(b)

Maps and
Descriptions

As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a boundary
description of each area designated as wilderness by this section with the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. Each map and boundary
description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act,
except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the
map or boundary description. The maps and boundary descriptions shall be on
file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, and in the Office of the
Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, as appropriate.

(c)

State and
Private Lands

Lands within the exterior boundaries of any
wilderness area designated under this section that are owned by the State of
Colorado or by a private entity shall be included within such wilderness area
if such lands are acquired by the United States. Such lands may be acquired by
the United States only as provided in the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.).

3.

Administrative
provisions

(a)

In
General

Subject to valid existing rights, lands designated as
wilderness by this Act shall be managed by the Secretary in accordance with the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, except that, with respect
to any wilderness areas designated by this Act, any reference in the Wilderness
Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a
reference to the date of enactment of this Act.

(b)

Grazing

Grazing
of livestock in wilderness areas designated by this Act shall be administered
in accordance with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16
U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), as further interpreted by section 108 of Public Law 96–560,
and the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of House Report 101–405 of the 101st
Congress.

(c)

State
Jurisdiction

As provided in section 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act
(16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the
jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Colorado with respect to
wildlife and fish in Colorado.

(d)

Water

(1)

In
general

With respect to each
wilderness and potential wilderness area designated by this Act, the Secretary
shall obtain and exercise any water rights required to fulfill the purposes of
the wilderness in accordance with the following provisions:

(A)

Such water rights shall be appropriated,
adjudicated, changed, and administered pursuant to the procedural requirements
and priority system of the laws of the State of Colorado.

(B)

The purposes and other substantive
characteristics of such water rights shall be established pursuant to State
law, except that the Secretary is specifically authorized to appropriate water
under this Act exclusively for the purpose of maintaining groundwater levels,
surface water levels, and streamflows on, across, and under the wilderness in
order to accomplish the purposes of the wilderness and to protect wilderness
uses.

(C)

Such water rights shall be established and
used without interfering with any exercise of a water right in existence on the
date of the enactment of this Act for a non-Federal purpose.

(2)

Protecting
rights

The Secretary and all
other officers of the United States shall take steps necessary to protect the
rights established under paragraph (1), including the filing by the Secretary
of a claim for the quantification of such rights in any present or future
appropriate stream adjudication in the courts of the State of Colorado in which
the United States is or may be joined and which is conducted in accordance with
section 208 of the Department of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C.
666; commonly known as the McCarran Amendment).

(3)

Relinquishment
or reduction

Nothing in this
Act shall be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of any water rights
reserved or appropriated by the United States in the State of Colorado on or
before the date of the enactment of this Act.

(4)

Water resource
facility

With respect to each
wilderness and potential wilderness area designated by this Act,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after the date of the
enactment of this Act, neither the President nor any other officer, employee,
or agent of the United States shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license
or permit for development of any new irrigation and pumping facility,
reservoir, water conservation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline, well,
hydropower project, transmission, other ancillary facility, or other water
diversion, storage, or carriage structure.

(e)

Aerial
Navigation Training Exercises

(1)

In
general

The Colorado Army National Guard, through the
High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, may conduct aerial
navigation training maneuver exercises over and upon the lands designated as
potential wilderness by this Act in a manner—

(A)

consistent with
the memorandum of understanding dated August 4, 1987, among the Colorado Army
National Guard, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service;
and

(B)

minimizing the
impact to wilderness character, natural features, and a visitor’s sense of
solitude.

(2)

Review of the
memorandum of understanding

The parties to the memorandum of
understanding referred to in paragraph (1)(A) shall review the memorandum and
associated annual operating plan not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter so long as the Colorado Army
National Guard conducts activity described in paragraph (1). The review shall
include consideration of alternative locations for activities identified in the
memorandum of understanding. Such alternative locations must be over and upon
National Forest System lands and lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management, other than lands designated as wilderness or as potential
wilderness.

(3)

Modification of
the memorandum of understanding

The memorandum of understanding referred to
in paragraph (1)(A) may be modified, subject to the agreement of all parties
thereto, if the Colorado Army National Guard, in consultation with the Bureau
of Land Management and the Forest Service, identifies an alternative location
as described in paragraph (2) that meets its aerial training needs.

(f)

Potential
Wilderness Designations

(1)

In
general

The following lands are designated as potential
wilderness areas:

(A)

Certain lands managed by the Glenwood
Springs Field Office or located in the White River National Forest which
comprise approximately 20,843 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
Deep Creek Proposed Wilderness Area, dated September 17, 2007,
which shall be known as the Deep Creek Wilderness.

(B)

Certain lands managed by the Glenwood
Springs Field Office which comprise approximately 15,679 acres, as generally
depicted on a map titled Pisgah Mountain Proposed Wilderness
Area, dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Pisgah
Mountain Wilderness.

(2)

Designation as
wilderness

Lands described in
paragraph (1) shall be designated as wilderness upon the Secretary publishing
in the Federal Register a notice that all nonconforming uses of those lands
provided for under subsection (e) that would be prohibited in wilderness by the
Wilderness Act have ceased. Such publication in the Federal Register by the
Secretary and subsequent designation as wilderness shall occur as the
nonconforming use ceases in any of the individual areas identified and shall
not be dependent on cessation of the nonconforming uses in all the potential
wilderness areas identified.

(3)

Management

Except
for activities provided for under subsection (e), lands described in paragraph
(1) shall be managed by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act as
wilderness until those lands are designated as wilderness under this
subsection.